The present invention relates to a mount assembly for mounting a two-way radio antenna to a mobile vehicle, and more particularly relates to a heavy duty mount assembly for securely mounting a two-way radio antenna to a curved surface of a mobile vehicle, such as a vehicle fender, so that the antenna extends perpendicularly to the ground along which the vehicle travels.
Two-way radios are in widespread use today by policemen, firemen, EMS personnel, security personnel, commercial personnel, military personnel and many others. To facilitate two-way radio communication, it is often necessary to mount a two-way radio antenna on a mobile vehicle. Many antenna mounts have been developed for this purpose.
Many standard antenna mounts that are commercially available today attach to the fender of a vehicle using small fingers that grip the underside of the vehicle fender. Such antenna mounts are disadvantageous because they provide a relatively weak mount assembly which is easily dislodged. Also, such antenna mounts have an open area between the coaxial cable shield and the mount itself, which is disadvantageous because RF energy escapes through the open area causing degradation of radio signals. Moreover, such antenna mounts, while easily mountable to a flat surfaces of a vehicle, are not readily mountable to curved surfaces. Furthermore, many of the standard antenna mounts are not designed to mount the radio antenna so that it extends perpendicularly to the ground, which is necessary for maximizing transmission and reception of RF energy.
Other antenna mounts that are commercially available are difficult to install, often requiring a skilled technician for installation, and many have a large number of parts and thus are costly to manufacture and time-consuming to install. In addition, many commercially available antenna mounts present a small contact area between the mount and the vehicle surface to which it is mounted, which results in a lack of mount stability and the likelihood that the antenna will become loosened over time and even jarred out of position when the vehicle rides over bumpy surfaces.